Rugby ace with Mayo connections making mark in France

Professional sport can be cruel, but it can also open up so many opportunities. When Eoghan Masterson was told by Connacht Rugby, that he wouldn't get a new contract, he had to look elsewhere.

Eoghan's mother hails from Westport, might have grown up in Leinster, but his Mayo connection is strong. His parents live in Aughagower now. 

“I've been to many All-Ireland finals and had my heart broken,” the fervent Mayo GAA supporter admits.

“I was only 29 when Connacht didn't extend my contract, and I wanted to keep going, wanted to keep playing,” the second-row forward tells The Mayo News.

Masterson consulted his network, and a former team mate with connections to Aurillac proved to be crucial: “He got wind that they were looking maybe for a player of my profile, and one thing led to another, and I was out here then in July 2022. I'd been looking for months, but eventually when the call came, it all happened very quickly.”

Fast forward three years and Masterson has three seasons in France's second tier under his belt. He's delighted the way things have turned out in Aurillac. It definitely was a transition, from playing in Ireland his entire career. There are a few notable differences to how rugby works in France.

TARGETING HOME MATCHES

Home matches are way more important in French club rugby. One reason for that is simply geography. It's a big country.

“For example, when we go to an away match in Vannes, which is up in the north-west of the country, that's a 10-hour bus trip the day before the game. You're leaving at 8am in the morning.

You get there at 6pm and probably do a light run around in the evening. That's the whole day before the game stuck on the bus for 10 hours, so it’s not ideal preparation.”

And then, there's just more games. There are 16 teams in Pro D2, which means 30 matches to be played. The coaches need to be strategic with their resources, which means they usually target the home matches and rotate the squad more for away fixtures.

“My team Aurillac, for example,” Masterson explains: “We would have been a team traditionally that won a lot of home games but didn't win our away games. A further factor is that teams seem to really get up with their home support.

"They're very passionate about the rugby here and the home crowd definitely give their team a boost at home. They can also get on the referees' backs a little bit, which can swing one or two 50-50 decisions their way. 

SACRED LUNCHBREAK

Obviously, the biggest challenge is to learn French. Eoghan himself had to quickly understand the systems the team were playing and the game model through a completely new language. 

“It's been a great challenge. Every day is a learning day and you feel like you're improving your French all the time, which is great.”

One thing that struck Eoghan, was the different daily routine. “They really love their lunchtime, their break between 12 and two o'clock. That's absolutely sacred. So we don't train between 12 and two. The lads go home and sleep and get a bite to eat.”

That means the team trains in the morning, pauses for two or three hours and then go back and train in the evenings, which is a bit different to what Irish players are used to. 

When it comes to the style of rugby, it's become a common place, that French rugby teams can turn on the swag relatively easily, called French Flair, in rugby terms.

“It's more heads up and eyes up rugby here. I've noticed a difference in probably a bit less structure, which is cool. However that sometimes leads to lads trying to force a pass too many, but it can be very easy on the eye. It can be very enjoyable to play in as well if it comes off.

But, on the flip side it can be very frustrating if you're attempting things and things aren't coming off you as well.”

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

French rugby clubs have a wide international player-base. For example, Masterson's team Aurillac have eight players from Georgia, a few from The Netherlands, Algeria, Fiji and Tonga, to name but a few.

“We have another Irish guy here, Ronan Loughnane, and he has quite a talent for making barista-level quality coffees in his house, so a lot of us go over there after a captain's run on a Thursday and play some cards, and we have lads from Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, so we've a right mix of everything there, which is kind of cool to see”

But teams cannot just load up their squads with foreigners. Many of them are actually “JIFF” players, which means, they came through the ranks of the local youth academies. There are requirements in place to assure, that home grown talent gets enough game time. 

A NEW O'GARA?

Currently, game time is unfortunately out of the question for Eoghan Masterson as he broke his leg during the Pro D2 round three win over Beziers. He says he has really settled in Aurillac now. The town is nestled in the Massif Central, a mountainous area in the centre of the country, one-and-a-half hours from Toulouse. 

Eoghan is doing his coaching badges at the moment, all through the language of French. Who knows, we might see him on the sideline in a couple of years, following in the footsteps of the great Ronan O'Gara, who has coached La Rochelle to Champions Cup glory. 

“I went into training with the Irish team one day when I was a young lad, because they needed lads to hold tackle shields or something when we were Under-20, so that was cool to cross paths with guys like Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara, and hopefully I will again in the future.”

Who knows, it might be on the sideline at a French rugby club match. Why not?